Ten Ways to Make Myanmar’s Tax Environment More Attractive for Foreign Investment Without Losing Any Tax Revenue

The slogan of the Dutch tax authorities is “We can’t make it more fun, but we can certainly make it easier”. A fair, easy, predictable and efficient tax system is an important factor in attracting foreign investment.

Highlights

• Speed up the signing of double taxation agreements
• Prioritize implementing advance tax rulings for investors so that their tax treatment is predictable
• Accelerate wrapping up tax audits and assessments
• Create a favourable tax treatment for expatriate employees
• Paying taxes could be made easier with a few simple measures
• Grant a 5 year moratorium on withholding tax for all loans used for new investment
• The IRD needs to hold more public seminars and speed up publishing a tax manual and practice notes
• Stamp Duty should be replaced by an updated and modern registration fee
• Stop denying losses and “expenses not commensurate with the volume of business”
• Base the Specific Special Goods Tax on production value instead of retail price